Passive protection of sheep against capripoxvirus

The close antigenic relationship between strains of capripox was shown by passively immunising sheep with serum against capripoxviruses isolated from a sheep and from a goat. Sheep immunised with immune serum to Oman sheep pox or Yemen goat pox resisted challenge with Yemen goat pox or Nigeria sheep pox respectively. Lambs born to sheep previously infected with isolates of capripox from the Sudan, India and Nigeria were also protected against challenge with Yemen goat pox.     

Capripox in the Yemen Arab Republic and the Sultanate of Oman

Summary Capripox was shown to be endemic in all the provinces of the Yemen Arab Republic and the Sultanate of Oman. Investigations into outbreaks of capripox indicated that some strains of capripoxvirus were infecting both sheep and goats and this was confirmed by inoculating experimental sheep and goats with isolates derived from field cases. The husbandry methods prevalent in the Middle East predispose to the rapid spread of capripox and annual vaccination of all sheep and goats must be considered as the only effective method of controlling the disease.

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Resumen Se comprobó que el capripox era endémico en todas las provincias de la República Arabe de Yemen y en el Sultanato de Oman. Las investigaciones de los brotes ocurridos, dieron como resultado el aislamiento de una cepa de virus capripox entre otras, capaz de infectar ovejas y cabras. Lo anterior se comprobó mediante la inoculación experimental. El sistema de manejo en el Este Medio favorece la rápida difusión de la enfermedad, siendo la vacunación anual de todo el efectivo, el único método efectivo para controlar la enfermedad.

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Résumé On a montré que l’infection Capripox est endémique dans toutes les provinces de la République Arabe et du Sultanat d’Oman. Des recherches conduites dans des foyers de capripox ont montré que quelques souches de virus capripox étaient infectieuses pour les moutons et les chèvres; ceci a pu être confirmé expérimentalement en inoculant des moutons et des chèvres avec des souches originaires de cas naturels. Les méthodes d’élevage existant au Moyen-Orient favorisent la dissémination rapide du capripox; la vaccination annuelle doit être considérée comme étant la seule méthode effective de contr?le de la maladie.

     

Reduction in mortality from heartwater in cattle, sheep and goats exposed to field challenge using an inactivated vaccine

Inactivated vaccines for heartwater prepared with the commercially acceptable Montanide ISA 50 (ISA 50) adjuvant were field tested in Boer goats in Botswana, Angora goats in South Africa, and Merino sheep in Zambia and Zimbabwe. Two vaccines, one made using the Zimbabwean Mbizi isolate and the other using the respective local field isolate (Sunnyside in Botswana; Bathurst in South Africa; Lutale in Zambia), were tested at each site, except in Zimbabwe where only the Mbizi vaccine was tested. Compared with unvaccinated animals, the Mbizi vaccine significantly protected goats and sheep against field Amblyomma tick challenge in Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe (P = 0.018, 0.002 and 0.017, respectively), but failed to protect Angora goats in South Africa. However, in South Africa the vaccine prepared using the local field isolate Bathurst, induced significant protection (P=0.008). The vaccines containing the local isolates at all other sites were less protective than the Mbizi vaccine. The Mbizi inactivated vaccine also significantly protected 17 of 21 cattle (P = 0.05) against heartwater challenge from field ticks in Zimbabwe. Against the same challenge only 7 of 21 unvaccinated control cattle survived.This study demonstrates that heartwater is a major constraint to upgrading livestock in endemic areas, and caused an overall mortality of 77.6% in naive sheep and goats (97 of 125 died) and 67% in cattle (14 of 21 died). In contrast, the vaccine had a protective effect by reducing the overall mortality in sheep and goats to 54.3% (113 of 208 died) and to 19% in cattle (4 of 21 died).     

Eradication of virulent footrot from sheep and goats in an endemic area of Nepal and an evaluation of specific vaccination

Programmes based on the identification and treatment of cases and the culling of animals refractory to treatment had failed to eradicate virulent footrot from two districts in the western region of Nepal. From 1993 to 1996 vaccination against two endemic virulent strains of Dichelobacter nodosus was tested for its potential to contribute to the eradication of footrot from the region. Only sheep and goats which had been free of signs of footrot at three inspections at monthly intervals before their annual migration to alpine pastures were eligible for inclusion. From November 1992, the treatment of cases identified during inspections included the injection of specific vaccine. Successfully treated cases migrated with their flocks but were excluded from the vaccine trial. Non-responding cases were culled. Forty combined flocks of sheep and goats (approximately 9500 animals) were used initially to compare three vaccination regimens. Eleven flocks (sheep and goats) were treated with two doses of specific vaccine (group A), nine (sheep and goats) were treated with commercial vaccine followed by specific vaccine (group B) and 10 (sheep and goats) were treated with two doses of commercial vaccine (group C) in March to April 1993 before the annual migration; 10 flocks (sheep and goats) remained unvaccinated (group D). Only sheep and goats free of signs of footrot were allowed to migrate. Nevertheless, virulent footrot recurred in many flocks three months later. However, its prevalence was significantly lower in group A than in the other three groups combined. Groups A, B and C then received the specific vaccine before their migrations in 1994 to 1996; group D remained unvaccinated. The annual programme of inspection and identification and treatment of cases continued for seven years, but the vaccinations ceased after four years. There was no recurrence of virulent footrot after November 1993. After the first season the virulent strains of D nodosus used in the specific vaccine could no longer be isolated, although antigenically distinct, benign strains of the organism persisted in cases of benign footrot.     

Clinical protection, sub-clinical infection and persistence following vaccination with extinction payloads of O1 Manisa Foot-and-Mouth Disease monovalent vaccine and challenge in goats and comparison with sheep

Small ruminants play an important role in the epidemiology of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD). Small ruminants are vaccinated with one-half or one-third of cattle dose of oil-based or aqueous vaccines respectively. The extinction antigen payload in vaccine for protection in small ruminants is poorly studied. FMD seronegative Nellore sheep (n=30) and Osmanabadi goats (n=30) were vaccinated with different payloads of O(1) Manisa vaccine (0.45-5 μg). Vaccinated and sero-negative unvaccinated sheep (n=6) and goats (n=6) were challenged intradermally into the coronary band with O(1) Manisa virus. The sheep and goats were monitored for signs of FMD and samples were collected for measuring viraemia and virus associated with nasal swabs and probang samples. Clotted blood was collected for serology. Vaccines containing antigen payload up to 0.94 μg protected sheep and goats against challenge. Sheep and goats vaccinated with 0.45 μg antigen payload were poorly protected against challenge. An antigen payload of 0.94 μg was sufficient to offer complete protection and also absence of carrier status. Sheep and goats with no vaccination or with poor sero conversion to vaccination showed sub-clinical infection and became carriers. The results of the study suggest that vaccination offers protection from clinical disease even at a low payload of 0.94 μg and hence one-half of cattle dose of the oil-based vaccine formulations is sufficient to induce protective immune response in sheep and goats. Since no live virus could be isolated after 5 days post challenge from the nasal swab or probang samples even though viral RNA was detected, the risk of these animals transmitting disease was probably very low.     

山羊痘灭活疫苗免疫保护试验

将山羊痘GT4-STV42-56种毒在犊牛睾丸细胞上繁殖,收获毒液,用0.1%甲醛溶液灭活,加适量206佐剂,制成山羊痘油佐剂灭活疫苗.将疫苗以不同剂量皮下免疫接种不同种群的山羊.免疫后21 d,用AV40株强毒进行攻毒保护试验.结果显示,免疫剂量达0.5 mL时,疫苗对内蒙绒山羊的保护率为100%,对广西黑山羊的保护率为80%.实验表明,山羊痘灭活疫苗对山羊的免疫效果确实可靠.     

Evidence for the transmission of scrapie to sheep and goats from a vaccine against Mycoplasma agalactiae

An accidental infection from a vaccine was suggested as the explanation for the sudden increase in outbreaks of scrapie in Italy in 1997 and 1998. This paper describes a recent outbreak of scrapie in sheep and goats which were exposed to the same vaccine. No ewes or goats had been imported into the herd since 1992, but a vaccine against Mycoplasma agalactiae had been administered twice, in 1995 and 1997. High rates of crude mortality and scrapie incidence were experienced by both species, all birth cohorts were involved and a large proportion of aged animals was affected. A pattern of brain lesions was observed, with slight differences between the sheep and goats, which was very similar to the pattern observed in animals previously exposed to the same vaccine but clearly different from that observed in the brains of sheep with scrapie in a flock not exposed to the vaccine. Regardless of their exposure status, genotype analysis of the sheep showed the presence of polymorphism only at codon 171. The patterns of both incidence and brain lesions provide evidence that the epidemic of scrapie was due to the use of the vaccine.     

The detection of antibody against peste des petits ruminants virus in Sheep,Goats, Cattle and Buffaloes

Monoclonal antibody-based competitive ELISA (C-ELISA) has been used for the specific measurement of antibodies to peste des petits ruminants (PPR) viruses in sheep, goats, cattle and Buffalo. Serum samples from sheep (n = 232), goats (n = 428), cattle (n = 43), buffalo (n = 89) were tested. The animals had not been vaccinated against rinderpest or PPR. Findings suggested that the sero-positive cases were significantly higher in sheep (51.29%) than in goats (39.02%) (P = 0.002). The overall sero-prevalence of PPRV in small ruminants was 43.33%. The PPR antibodies seroprevalence was 67.42% in buffalo and 41.86% in cattle which was significantly higher in buffalo (P = 0.005). The overall sero-prevalence of PPRV in large ruminants was 59.09%. Cattle and buffalo sera showed a high prevalence of antibody against PPR virus which may explain the difficulty experienced in achieving high post-vaccination immunity levels against rinderpest. Because antibodies against PPR virus are both cross-neutralizing and cross-protective against rinderpest virus, further vaccination in the presence of antibodies against PPR virus may be a waste of national resources. It was also suggested that antibodies to PPR virus could prevent an immune response to the rinderpest vaccine. This paper presents serological evidence for the transmission of PPR virus from sheep and goats to cattle and buffalo and highlights the need to include PPR serology in the sero-monitoring programme to give a better indication of national herd immunity of sheep and goats against PPR.     

A field trial to evaluate a whole cell vaccine for the prevention of caseous lymphadenitis in sheep and goat flocks.

A field trial to evaluate a whole cell vaccine for the prevention of caseous lymphadenitis (CLA) in sheep and goats was performed in one goat herd and one sheep flock over a period of three years. In goats, there was a nonstatistically significant trend for fewer cases of CLA in the vaccinated animals compared to the controls. In sheep, from six months to 36 months postinitial vaccination, the proportion of vaccinated sheep that developed CLA was significantly less (p less than 0.05) than in the control sheep. The antibody titers to Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis as detected by microagglutination assay were significantly different (p less than 0.0001) at all times except at the initial vaccination. Swellings occurred at the vaccination site at an incidence level of 29.6% in goats and 34.1% in sheep. The vaccine appeared to be efficacious in reducing the proportion of sheep that developed CLA when challenged naturally in a field situation.     

Post-vaccination antibodies profile against Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) virus in sheep and goats of Punjab,Pakistan

A total of 70 sheep and 330 goats were selected randomly. All the animals were kept under same housing and management conditions. Serum samples were collected from all the animals and tested for the presence of antibodies against Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) virus using competitive ELISA (cELISA). All the animals were found negative showing percentage inhibition (PI) values <50. The animals were vaccinated against PPR with Nig/75/1 strain vaccine of PPR Serum samples were collected from randomly selected 12 sheep and 30 goats at 10, 30 and 45 days post-vaccination. The samples were subjected to cELISA to determine the presence of antibodies against PPRV. The samples with PI >50 were considered as sero-positive. The sheep found positive at 10, 30 and 45 days post-vaccination were 1(8.3%), 7(58.3%) and 12(100%) respectively. In case of goats 3(10.0%), 29(96.6%) and 27(90.0%) animals gave positive results at 10, 30 and 45 days post-vaccination respectively. Mean PI values in sheep at 10, 30 and 45 days post-vaccination were recorded as 37, 65 and 91 respectively, whereas in goats these values were 43, 78 and 86 respectively.     

Serosurveillance of foot-and-mouth disease in sheep and goat population of India

Serological investigation to detect foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) virus circulation in the domestic small ruminant population of India was conducted. A total of 4407 and 4035 serum samples from sheep and goats, respectively were collected at random covering majority of the states across the country during 2010–2012. These samples were analyzed for antibodies against the non-structural proteins (NSP) of FMD virus in an indirect 3AB NSP ELISA and against the structural proteins (SP) in a liquid phase blocking (LPB) ELISA. A total of 20.35% sheep and 13.60% goats were found to be positive for 3AB NSP antibodies providing a serological evidence of extensive viral activity. In LPB ELISA, only 4.54% sheep and 6.27% goats were found to have protective antibody (log₁₀ titre of ≥1.8) against all three serotype strains in the vaccine, which correlates with “no or sparse vaccination” scenario in these species in the country. Hence, to check silent amplification and dissemination of virus in a mixed farming set up, small ruminants may be brought under the ambit of routine vaccination and surveillance programmes.     

Enterotoxemia in the goat: the humoral response and local tissue reaction following vaccination with two different bacterin-toxoids.

A vaccination trial involving 72 goats was designed to compare the epsilon antitoxin titres and local reactions at the injection sites, of two commercial enterotoxemia vaccines. Three dosage regimens were used for each vaccine (12 goats per group). Although no significant differences were noted in humoral immune response between the two vaccines (P = 0.05), one vaccine regime resulted in low titres (P = 0.05) on two occasions. Local tissue reactions at injection sites persisted for six months in 53% of the goats regardless of vaccine used or dosage administered. No immunological basis for the reported differences in vaccine efficacy between sheep and goats was observed in this trial.     

我国羊泰勒虫病及其基因工程疫苗研究进展

羊泰勒虫病是由羊的泰勒虫引起的绵羊和山羊的一种蜱传性血液原虫病.疫苗预防是控制和根除羊泰勒虫病的一种最安全、有效的方法.然而我国目前还没有任何预防羊泰勒虫的疫苗,疫苗的研制还处于抗原基因筛选阶段.论文就目前羊泰勒虫病及其基因工程疫苗的研究进展进行综述,并对其未来的发展趋势进行展望.     

A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis of Phase I Inactivated Vaccines to Reduce Shedding of Coxiella burnetii From Sheep and Goats From Routes of Public Health Importance

Q fever in humans and coxiellosis in livestock are both caused by Coxiella burnetii. The public health importance of vaccination against C. burnetii shedding from sheep and goats was evaluated using systematic review and meta‐analysis to provide evidence for policy direction to prevent potential zoonotic spread. Publications reporting shedding of C. burnetii in vaginal and uterine secretions, milk, placenta and faeces were included. A single observational (one goat) and seven experimental (four goat and three sheep) vaccine studies were included in the review. No relevant publications on other interventions were identified. Random effects meta‐analyses were performed for the risk of shedding in individuals in the control and vaccinated groups and for the mean difference in the level of bacterial shedding in sheep and goats stratified by age and previous exposure status. Limited data were available for further analytic evaluation. From the pooled analysis, an inactivated phase I vaccine significantly reduced the risk of shedding from uterine (RR = 0.10; 95%CI 0.05–0.20) secretions in previously sensitized goats. Individual studies reported significant risk reduction in milk (RR = 0.03; 95%CI 0.01–0.26), vaginal secretions (RR = 0.40; 95%CI 0.22–0.75) and faeces (RR = 0.79; 95%CI 0.63–0.97) from naïve goats. The pooled mean levels of bacteria shed from placental [mean difference (MD = ?5.24 Log₁₀; 95%CI ?6.75 to ?3.7)] and vaginal (MD = ?1.78 Log₁₀; 95%CI ?2.19 to ?1.38) routes were significantly decreased in vaccinated naïve goats compared with controls. Shedding through all other routes from vaccinated goats was not significantly different than shedding from control goats. No effect of vaccination was found on the risk of shedding or the mean level of shedding in vaccinated sheep compared with control sheep. Our conclusions are based on a limited amount of data with variable risk of systematic error.     

Standardization of large scale production of homologous live attenuated PPR vaccine in India

Live attenuated homologous vaccine against peste des petits ruminants of sheep and goats was produced on a large scale basis in roller culture bottles using seed virus developed at the Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Muktheswar, India. Vero cells between 130–150 passages with six percent foetal calf serum were used for the production of vaccine. The cells were infected with 0.01 multiplicity of infection and harvested when the cytopathic effect was 80%. The vaccine was freezedried in order to maintain the stability of the vaccine. Identity test and titration was performed and the vaccine titre was monitored to be minimum of 10⁵/100 doses. In-house sterility tests and quality control tests using experimental animals and small ruminants were performed. The vacuum and moisture content of the vaccine were also regulated to be within the normal limits.     

绵羊肺炎支原体灭活疫苗的研制

绵羊肺炎支原体引起绵羊及山羊非典型肺炎,分布广泛,危害严重。本试验旨在研制绵羊肺炎支原体灭活疫苗。采用改良Thiaucourt's培养基对绵羊肺炎支原体临床分离株SC02进行培养,收集生长滴度达10⁹ CCU/mL的培养物,浓缩20倍后灭活,制备油佐剂疫苗。选择绵羊肺炎支原体抗体阴性的6月龄健康山羊经颈部皮下接种该疫苗5.0 mL/只(2×10¹⁰ CCU/mL),免疫后21 d,试验组与对照组山羊经气管接种绵羊肺炎支原体强毒Y98株5.0 mL/只(≥2×10¹⁰ CCU/mL),测量体温、观察临床症状,并于攻毒后30 d剖检,观察肺脏病理变化。结果表明,试验组5只山羊均获得免疫保护,全部精神状况良好,临诊和剖检均未见异常;对照组5只山羊出现咳嗽、发热、流鼻涕等症状,剖杀后见肺脏组织有典型的肺炎病理变化。本研究结果表明,该疫苗对山羊有良好的免疫保护作用。     

Study on caprine and ovine dermatophilosis in Wollo,Northeast Ethiopia

A study on dermatophilosis in sheep (n = 1432) and goats (n = 1128) was conducted in Northeast Ethiopia. Out of 2560 examined animals, 55 (2.14%) had clinical dermatophilosis. The respective prevalence in sheep and goats were 1.5% and 2.9%. There was no significant difference (p > 0.05) in prevalence between sheep and goats and different sexes in both species. In goats, the prevalence in young (8.7%) was significantly (p < 0.05) higher than in adults (2.3%). Clinical disease was associated with orf (45% in sheep and 12% in goats), pox (22% in sheep and 18% in goats) and ticks in goats (36%, 12/33). Other risk factors associated with transmission and spread of the disease were discussed. Vaccination against concurrent infections, improved management schemes to alleviate the impact of risk factors and early antibiotic treatment against clinical disease are recommended.     

Attenuation of a strain of rinderpest virus: potential homologous live vaccine

Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is a highly contagious disease of small ruminants frequently associated with severe mortality in these hosts. In countries where it occurs, PPR represents an important constraint to the improved productivity of sheep and goats. Until now the only way to combat this plague has been the use of heterologous rinderpest vaccine; all attempts to develop a homologous vaccine have ended in failure. The present communication describes the attenuation of the Nigerian strain PPRV Nig 75/1 by serial passage in Vero cells. The avirulent virus obtained has the same characteristics as Plowright and Ferris' rinderpest vaccine. The virus is advanced as a potential homologous vaccine against PPR.     

Mycoplasma infections in farm animals: specific prevention of infectious (contagious) agalactia in the sheep and goat

The authors of this paper have produced live vaccine to cope with infectious agalactia in goat. The vaccine (culture) was used on 360, 924 goats kept on ajmaks in Bajanchongor and Gobi-Altaj, in 1986. The number of pathologically affected goats went down by a factor of 4.5, as compared to 1985. Mortality was reduced to one third. Abortions declined by a factor of 2.6 and infertility among goats by 1.6. The conclusion is that sheep of the Mongolian breed are not susceptible to infectious agalactia. Large-scale production tests of live cultures supported hopes for successful action on this infectious disease under Mongolian conditions.